Generation Genius, Inc.

Generation Genius produces Hollywood-quality educational content for schools.

The company, which describes its business as “Netflix for the classroom,” enables students to learn educational material through fun, interactive videos.

Generation Genius is part of the fast-growing educational technology, or “EdTech” market. This market experiencing significant M&A activity — for example:

• Lynda.com, an online learning company, was acquired by LinkedIn for $1.5 billion.

• Renaissance Learning, an educational software company, was bought for $1.1 billion.

• And PowerSchool, an EdTech company, was acquired by Onex for $350 million.

And now, by tapping into the $10 billion a year that U.S. schools spend on digital learning, Generation Genius could potentially become the next major acquisition.

98% of classrooms have internet access, digital textbooks, and smart-boards. Yet 90% of elementary school teachers still use 25-year-old VHS tapes to teach students. Clearly, the educational entertainment market is ripe for disruption.

Generation Genius’ science-based videos are produced by its team of co-founders with extensive experience in biochemistry and television production.

CEO Jeff Vinokur has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UCLA and has performed science experiments on “The Today Show,” “The View,” “Rachel Ray,” and YouTube. (He invested $360,000 of his own money to start this company.)

President Eric Rollman is the former President of Marvel TV & Animation, and won a 2016 Emmy award for “Best Children’s Series.” He’s been credited with over 7,500 hours of children’s television content, and produced shows for Nickelodeon, ABC, Disney, Netflix, and Cartoon Network.

Each of Generation Genius' 12-minute videos comes with online lesson plans, quizzes, vocabulary cards, and discussion questions. And all content is produced in partnership with the National Science Teachers Association.

The company’s initial content was a series of science videos for students in Grades 3 through 5. After being released in July 2018, the videos were studied by WestEd, a research group that works with the U.S. Department of Education, across 12 elementary schools with 439 students.

According to the results, 92% of students said the videos helped them learn, 90% answered quiz questions correctly, and 88% said the content made them think science is “cool.”

Katie McGrath, a 4th grade teacher in Florida, said on Facebook, “Generation Genius is…genius! My students love it! I use it to introduce the concept-of-the-week in science.”

In nine months, Generation Genius surpassed $500,000 in sales, attracted 3,000 paying schools, and got access to teachers reaching more than 200,000 kids.

Generation Genius advertises its videos to schools and individual teachers. Teachers can test the videos during a free 14-day trial, and then pay $95 per year for the content. Schools, meanwhile, pay $495 per year for the videos.

Generation Genius’ cost to acquire a customer is $137, and each customer’s lifetime value is $737 based on a 70% renewal rate. Soon, the company will begin selling home content for parents for $5 per month.

The company plans to double its sales in 2019 by doubling the amount of available content.

It will add 36 videos for students ranging from kindergarten to second grade, making its product appropriate for all elementary school students.

In addition, the company is considering a price increase from $495 for schools to $995. This will help increase revenue, but still place Generation Genius significantly below its closest competitor, who charges $1,500.

By fall 2020, the company plans to create science content for students in grades 6 through 8, and then add math-related content for students in kindergarten through eighth grade in fall 2021. After that, the company will expand to English-related content.

Generation Genius is forecasting to generate $6.6 million of revenue in 2020, at which point it will be profitable. It aims to reach $95 million in revenue within 5 years.

The company’s goal is to become the go-to destination for educational entertainment, at which point it could become an ideal acquisition target. Potential acquirers include:

• Education companies like Scholastic and Pearson.

• Streaming companies like Netflix and Hulu.

• Or tech companies like Google, Microsoft, or Apple.

Team Background

Eric Rollman - Co-Founder & President

Eric is a leader in the children’s television sector, winning a 2016 Emmy Award for “Best Children’s Series.”

He is the former President of Marvel TV & Animation, and the former President of Fox Family Productions Worldwide. Fox Family and Marvel were sold to Disney for a combined $7 billion.

Eric has produced more than 7,500 hours of children’s television, including content for channels like Netflix, Marvel, Nickelodeon, ABC, Disney, and the Cartoon Network.

Dr. Jeff Vinkour - Co-Founder & CEO

Jeff is the host of Generation Genius’ video content, and has an extensive background in both science and television production.

He earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UCLA, and has performed science experiments on “The Today Show,” “The View,” “Rachel Ray,” and YouTube.

As part of a traveling stage show, he has presented experiments at the World Science Festival, Smithsonian, and more than 400 schools. In addition, he helped invent science toys sold in Target, and consulted for science-related shows on Netflix and Fox.

In addition to his time at UCLA, Jeff completed a fellowship at the National Science Foundation and has had several research pieces published.

Co-Investors